2001 WUSA season

The 2001 Women's United Soccer Association season served as the inaugural season for WUSA, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on April 14 and ended on August 12, with the postseason games being held on August 18 and August 25.

The Women's United Soccer Association, often abbreviated to the WUSA, was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the United States. The league suspended operations on September 15, 2003, shortly after the end of its third season, after making cumulative losses of around US $100 million.

Women's association football, also commonly known as women's football or women's soccer is the most prominent team sport played by women around the globe. It is played at the professional level in numerous countries throughout the world and 176 national teams participate internationally.

Contents

Attendance figures were high for the first season, particularly early in the season, though not near the levels organizers were expecting based on the attendance for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. The league spent its initial $40m budget, intended to last five years, in just this first season.

The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was held in the United States and won by the host team. The final between the U.S. and China, held on 10 July at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, was the most-attended women's sports event in history with an official attendance of 90,185. U.S. President Bill Clinton was among those in attendance. The final was scoreless after extra time and won by the U.S. in a penalty shootout. This remains the only Women's World Cup tournament in which the host nation has won.

Competition format

The season began on April 14 and ended on August 12.

Each team played a total of 21 games, three against each opponent (either twice at home and once away or vice versa). This caused an uneven schedule with teams hosting either 10 or 11 home games each.

The four teams with the most points from the regular season qualified for the playoffs. The regular season champions and runners-up hosted the fourth- and third-placed teams, respectively, in the single-game semifinals on August 18. The winners of the semifinals met at Foxboro Stadium for the final on August 25.

Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) until 2001 and also as the home venue for the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS) from 1996 to 2001. The stadium was the site of several games in both the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup which the U.S. won. Foxboro Stadium was demolished in 2002 and replaced by Gillette Stadium and the Patriot Place shopping center.

See also

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